The Unknown Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes
by C. H. Baker
Summary: A series of adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his loyal companion, Dr. John Watson, which weren't known to the public.
1. Publisher's Note

**This is my attempt at making a series of short stories featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Comments and Reviews will be appreciated.**

**

* * *

****The Unknown Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes**

**Publisher's Notes:**

Dr. John Watson has published many of the cases he collaborated with the great detective, Sherlock Holmes, in _The Strand_. But there were many other cases and collaborations that he and Mr. Sherlock Holmes that were not published nor known to the public. Here, for the first time, we are publishing the adventures that Dr. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes lived before the detective's retirement. The following cases are taken from the diary of Dr. Watson.


	2. The Mystery of the Invisible Thief

**The Unknown Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes**

**The Mystery of the Invisible Thief**

Mr. Andrew Hosmer, a store owner, was telling a story to Holmes about how the items of his store were missing, and how there was no trace of a robbery. I was listening closely on a third chair. Mr. Hosmer seemed nervous.

"So tell me, Mr. Hosmer, when was the first time you noticed the items missing?" Holmes asked.

"It was last Friday. I think it was the first time the thief acted, but I am not sure. A costumer had come to us and asked for a wine, which I was sure I had, and there wasn't any. The wine was gone, and I had done the inventory the night before, and the wine was there, and then it wasn't. I first thought it may have been a mistake I had made, but the next day another costumer had asked for a box containing the materials to make clocks, and it was gone too. Several other times I had been through this, a costumer comes for an item which I think I have, but there is not the item. I decided to make another inventory on Wednesday, and several items of the ones that had been there the last time I had made an inventory were missing. That very day I hired two men to stay on watch the whole night. They say they did not even blink, but imagine this, the next day three items were missing. I asked them if they had seen somebody at least walking nearby, but they claim there wasn't anybody around looking suspicious. I decided to stay the next day on guard, as I rely more on my eyes than on the word of two strangers. Not one person passed by, and the next day four more items were missing. I have come to you, after a week of this happening, in the hopes that you will catch this thief and help me."

Holmes seemed interested on the case. In fact, this was the kind of cases that he was most attracted to: having a mystery with no explanation. It was a strange case, yes, but I was sure my friend Holmes would find the answer.

"Well," said Holmes, "I am going to tell you that yours is a very fascinating case. You say you did not close your eyes for even five minutes when you were guard?"

"Yes, I was awake the whole time. And as I told you there was nobody around to be the thief."

"Well, we will help you, Mr. Hosmer. We will find an answer to the case."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Holmes."

Mr. Hosmer walked out of the apartment. Holmes then asked me:

"Watson, what do you think about this case? What can you tell me about it?"

"Well," I began, "it is, indeed, a very unusual case, but, as the many other cases with similarity to this, you have managed to solve all of the ones you have faced, so I am sure you will solve it."

"No doubt, Watson. Now, how do you think the thief managed to steal from the store if it was closed and nobody came in?"

"Well, what I would think is that the thief never left the store, he has always been in, he has never gone out of the store."

"That is a very interesting theory, Watson. I thought of that too. Now, come on, we will inspect this store to make sure the thief isn't hiding inside it and waiting for the owner to go away and steal his goods. But there is always the question: if the thief is always in there, he has to come out someday, how does he accomplish this?"

I had not thought of an answer, but Holmes gave the answer to me:

"The thief is from the inside." When he saw my puzzlement, he proceeded to explain. "The thief works on the store. He steals during the day, takes the objects at the end, and nobody notices this." I hadn't thought of that possibility, but it seemed likely. "However," Holmes continued, "I do not think this is the case. Mr. Hosmer seemed like an intelligent man, and he would find out if one of his employees is stealing from him. Come now, Watson, we will go and visit the store."

We walked out of 221B and received the hot sun on the face, it was midday. We took a cab and gave the cabby the address that Mr. Hosmer had given us when he had first arrived to the apartment. The cabby stopped at the store that Mr. Hosmer had described, and came in. Mr. Hosmer, who had been sitting on a chair near the door, jumped from the surprise of seeing us.

"Mr. Holmes!" he explained.

"Hello, Mr. Hosmer. We have come here in order to solve the case. Would you mind if we walk through the store, seeing if there is no one inside who always stays here every night to steal your things?"

Mr. Hosmer seemed surprised. With a thin thread of voice he managed to say:

"Su-sure… Mr. Holmes."

Me and Holmes walked around the store as he had said. We searched around anywhere a thief could be hiding, there was no one. I was a little disappointed, but Holmes did not seem affected, he actually seemed a little relieved.

"Well, it seems there is nobody here." Announced Holmes to Mr. Andrew Hosmer when we were done with researching in his store. "That crosses off the list a thief hiding in here. But there are other possibilities. Mr. Hosmer, do you think there would be a problem if my colleague and I stayed here the night, guarding your store and seeing if there is any robbery going on."

Mr. Andrew Hosmer stuttered. After a while, he managed to say firmly:

"I think you can stay here and see if there is a thief around here."

"Thank you, Mr. Hosmer. I am sure we will be able to catch the thief, if not tonight, then tomorrow."

While we were walking out of the store, Holmes seemed to have caught a smell, which was impossible for me to feel. He sniffed the air, then the walls and the wood of the door. Finally he sniffed the floor. When he was back on his feet he seemed to have discovered something.

"Interesting." He murmured. It was so low that I could barely have heard it.

We returned to our apartment at Baker Street just after that. Holmes seemed to have solved the case already, but he did not want to share his theories with me. But I knew that his discovery by smelling the walls, door and floor outside the store had given him the final clue to solve the case.

It was already getting late and Holmes did not seem to be ready for going to the store. He was in his room, practicing the violin. I was ready.

"Holmes," I asked, opening his door, "aren't we supposed to go to the store and watch over the night for the invisible thief?"

"Yes, Watson, in a minute."

Sometime later Holmes walked down the stairs, ready to go for our night watch.

"Hope you brought your gun, Watson."

"I did."

"Good, let's go."

Holmes and I took a hansom back to the store. We met with Mr. Hosmer out on the store's door, he was already closing.

"Mr. Hosmer." Said Holmes.

"Mr. Holmes, Dr. Watson, I am glad you are here. I hope that you catch that thief tonight and that he doesn't steal more from my store."

"Sure, Mr. Hosmer, we will catch him."

Andrew Hosmer departed almost immediately after telling us to stay the whole night awake, making sure that nobody would get near the store and steal his things.

Our night watch wasn't a short one, and certainly the wait for something to happen was very long. I was getting sleepy, but Holmes always reminded me to stay awake. There was a moment, I think around one or two, that did close my eyes and fell asleep, but was waken by Holmes's shouting.

"Stay awake, Watson!"

I blinked hard many times before I was back on my senses. Holmes was staring at me.

"For how long I was asleep?" I asked.

"Not over two minutes. I noticed you almost immediately and I kept screaming at you for a long time."

Our watch was prolonged until three, when a strange man passed by. I could not see the man's face, the shadows were too dense. But after he departed I started smelling a sour smell. It smelled like some fruit I couldn't recognize immediately, but then I noticed it were oranges. Holmes then started standing up fast and pulling my sleeve to stand up and go with him.

"Hurry, Watson, the thief is inside!"

We rushed inside the store and I saw the strange man who I did not recognize before –now he was pretty recognizable; he was a tall man, black hair, beard and moustache- with a bag and he was putting an object inside.

Holmes jumped to him, but then man dropped the bag and ran. Holmes and I chased the man through the store, he kept outrunning us. He was fast and fit, but at some turn me and Holmes ambushed him: Holmes had gotten in front of him and had caught him while I was running from behind.

"Watson, this is the invisible thief." Holmes said while tying up the man with a rope he had taken.

An hour later, Mr. Hosmer and the police were in the store. Holmes was explaining how he had caught the thief.

"When we were here today in the afternoon, I had sensed a smell in the floor, door and walls. It smelled like sour oranges mixed with alcohol. I knew I had smelled it before, I just could not place it. While I was at my apartment I hit the answer, it was a very uncommon drug that would put who receives it to sleep for a couple of minutes, and the person would not even notice. The person would just feel a smell of sour oranges and would continue his day, without noticing he slept. When I smelled the sour oranges I knew the thief had acted. I ran inside the store with my friend and we together caught the thief. Now, tell me, Mr. Hosmer, did you smell sour oranges when you were on guard?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. But I thought it was not important…"

"Oh it was, but do not worry, anyone would have thought it was not."

The invisible thief was identified as Theodore Donahue, who had employed the method of drugging his victims and stealing their belongings. He was taken by the police, who thanked Holmes for the help in the case.

"Well," said Holmes after the police was gone, "another case closed. And now, why don't we go back to Baker Street? I am dying to drink some of the fine scotch I have to celebrate?"

**The End**


End file.
